BUFFALO, N.Y. — The statistics say St. Bonaventure’s men’s basketball team has dominated the Big 4, nee Little Three.
Even in losing a 77-75 heartbreaker to Niagara in the season opener at the Reilly Center, Bona leads the series with the Purple Eagles, 88-70. Thanks to last Saturday’s 73-62 win at Buffalo, the Bonnies have dominated the Bulls 10-2, 7-1 since the Big 4 became a reality in 2010. And, last night at the Koessler Center, SBU logged its 100th victory over Canisius, a 73-65 decision, against 66 losses.
It was a bizarre game played out in front of 2,196 witnesses.
The Bonnies, 6-2, trailed for a mere 46 seconds, were tied for a little over double that, and led for the rest of the way.
And though it seemed St. Bonaventure was in control, you never really felt that way.
Behind a career-high 31-point effort by 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Isaiah Reese, the Griffs wouldn’t go away.
They tailed by 11 in the first half and cut it to two. Canisius was down by 12 with just under six minutes to play, but slashed the margin to four with a possession to make it a 1-point game.
But the Bonnies, who forced 19 turnovers and scored 27 points off of them, prevailed.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of games, it’s not going to go to Springfield (Massachusetts and the Basketball Hall of Fame), but it was two teams with a lot of passion … a typical Big 4 game,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt said. “Every time we felt like we got some distance on them, they came back. Reese was terrific.
“We didn’t play great in the first half … but I felt we competed.”
And, after intermission, he never considered the game was in hand until the final seconds.
“When you’re on the road, you’re never in control, everything is foreign,” Schmidt said. “We’re up by 10 or 11 and they came back. It’s college basketball. We missed some layups (10 in all, four each by guard Jaylen Adams and forward Courtney Stockard). We miss a layup and they go down and hit a three, that’s a 5-point play.
“Every game we play in the Big 4 is closely fought. That’s how it should be and why it’s such a big rivalry. It’s a special game for us and the alumni and the entire school.”
He added, “We knew it would be a difficult game coming in. Our goal, when we came back from Florida (a split in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville) was to win three straight road games (Siena, Buffalo and Canisius) … go 3-0. Our guys accomplished that. Our effort was there and that’s how we’ve been playing.”
Even Canisius coach Reggie Witherspoon, who knows the Big 4 from two perspectives as he coached at UB for 14 seasons, felt his team played well against the Bonnies.
“I’m really proud of our effort … our effort tonight was really, really good,” Witherspoon maintained afterward. “It’s our poise that we didn’t have to go along with it.”
Specifically those 19 turnovers.
Meanwhile, the streak marked only the second time in Schmidt’s 11 seasons at St. Bonaventure that his team won three straight road games … the first was back in Year 2.
Including the split on a neutral court in Florida, the Bonnies are now 4-1 away from the Reilly Center this season.
“In order to have a good season, you’ve got to win some road games,” Schmidt said. “We call them road kills and the more road kills you get, the better season you’re gonna have because half your games are on the road. And when you get (road wins) earlier (in the season), it gives you confidence. It’s hard to go in other people’s places and you hear boos … it’s a different environment. And since 75, 80 percent of (college basketball) games are won by the home team …
“It’s difficult to win on the road and the more you do it, the more confident you get and the more success you’ll have.”
And, if you’re keeping track, the next foray out of the RC for the Bonnies is a week from Saturday against Vermont at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena.
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
